KEYS TO GAME

Ira Miller

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, January 27, 2002

EAGLES

-- Offense: Control the ball. Ideally, that happens with the running game, but with the Eagles, it would have to be QB Donovan McNabb completing short passes and running the ball himself. The Eagles, however, had the sixth-lowest time of possession in the NFL this year.

-- Defense: Force turnovers, make big plays, don't allow them. Sounds simple. It is do-able. The Packers last week and the 49ers last month both played defense well enough to win at St. Louis. The Eagles have a gambling defense; they must win some of those gambles.

-- Special teams: Score, or at least, create a touchdown. The Eagles may be able to do that because they have a terrific kicking game and returner Brian Mitchell is one of the best in history.

RAMS

-- Offense: Don't be stupid. The Rams' offense is so good that it sometimes gets careless. The Rams lost 14 turnovers in their two defeats. Last week, near the goal line against the Packers, they used a tight end on an end-around and it didn't work. They are too good to need silly tricks like that.

-- Defense: Contain McNabb. Philadelphia is the closest thing to a one-man offense you will see in pro football. The Rams have a fast defense so they should be able to counter-act his movement as long as the linemen and linebackers remain disciplined.

-- Special teams: Just catch the ball. Dre Bly has replaced Az-Zahir Hakim as the punt returner because Hakim fumbled too often. Bly is not nearly the big-play threat Hakim was. All they hope for here is to play even.